Roofs of structures requiring the removal of old shingles, commonly referred to as a “tear-off”, is strenuous, physical and sometimes hazardous work. The old shingles must be dislodged, ripped up and then pushed off of the roof. These actions typically require a variety of hand tools and a significant amount of physical exertion to accomplish the task. It is both time consuming and tiresome. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which the removal of old shingles on a roof can be accomplished in a simpler and easier manner than current methods allow.
Several attempts have been made in the past to make the physical removal of a roof less laborious. U.S. Pat. No. D 407,619 issued in the name of Trottier provides for the design of a shingle removal tool that is angled, having multiple teeth and can be used with one hand.
U.S. Pat. No. D377,140 issued in the name of Bair provides for the design of a shingle removal tool that is a single, elongated bar with a curvature forming into a pistol-grip handle for a person to hold while prying shingles from a roof.
U.S. Pat. No. D359,434 issued in the name of Gibson provides for the design of a roofing shingle remover, having a curved to a flat base that has a plurality of teeth. A handle, for use with one hand, is on the opposite end.
U.S. Pat. No. D320,149 issued in the name of Owens provides for the design of a shovel head for a shingle removing tool. The disclosed head design would be attached to a shovel length handle that would be operated with both hands.
U.S. Pat. No. D310,773 issued in the name of Frady provides for the design of a slate shingle remover. The remover is a single handed tool with a heavy duty pry bar end and a manual impact handle.
U.S. Pat. No. D439,126 issued in the name of Gohman provides for the design of a roofing material removal tool. The tool has a medium length manual handle that is attached to flat base plate that has multiple teeth.
U.S. Pat. No. D471,071 issued in the name of Richards provides for the design of a hand tool that is used for the removal of shingle from a roof. The tool is a one handed implement having a handle that is elevated over a flat push scraper base.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,436 issued in the name of Crookston discloses a shingle stripping hand tool that strips shingles using a flat blade with teeth and a backward facing fulcrum for prying action that is attached to a handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,720 issued in the name of Gohman discloses a tool for removing roofing material that is comprised of a handle attached to a scraping and lifting blade that has teeth, and with said handle being adjustable by the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,213 issued in the name of Hendrix, et al. discloses a roofer's shingle removal tool with an elongated handle and a serrated blade that is curved to facilitate lifting and stripping of wood and asphalt shingles from a roof.
None of the prior art particularly describes an apparatus or the method of manually stripping shingles from a roof with a two-handed tool having an elongated handle with two sets of tines that makes the task of removing shingles significantly more efficient.